Wildflowers have Death Valley springing to life
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Wildflowers are coming out at Death Valley National Park, blanketing Panamint Valley and adding brilliant yellow highlights to other sections of the park.
Death Valley isn’t expecting a “superbloom” this year — a phenomenon that produces stunning fields of color about once every decade — but desert gold is doing its best to make “a good bloom year” worth a trip to the park.
A news release from the park on Monday said Ubehebe Crater and Dantes View are other wildflower hotspots, but warned visitors to “stay on the trail and let wildflowers prevail.”
And always remember: picking wildflowers is prohibited. Removing flowers means fewer seeds and fewer future blooms to enjoy next year, according to the release.
“If you are in a trailless area, walk on durable surfaces like rock and bare sand,” park officials said.
One of the showiest flowers is desert gold, which has created brilliant patches of yellow blooms.
Yellow is not the only color you will see in Death Valley. Sand verbena, seen here near the Ashford Mills ruins, is pink to purple. (Photo: Monica Koenig / National Park Service) Bright yellow desert gold is covering the desert in Panamint Valley. (Photo: Carolyn Mills / Great Basin Institute) Suncups stripe the hillside heading up to Dantes View. (Photo: National Park Service)
Why no superbloom? While it’s been a very wet year at the park, the rain has come in intense bursts — including the August storms that were a remnant of Hurricane Hilary. Those rains — extremely heavy in a desert environment like Death Valley — washed out roads and caused devastating floods.
The conditions have to be perfect for a superbloom. The last one was in 2016, according to the park’s website.
“A gentle rain that soaks deeply into the soil is essential for a desert floral display,” according to the website. “To begin, a rainstorm of a half inch or more is needed to wash the protective coating off wildflower seeds and allow them to sprout.”
After that, rains are needed “in evenly-spaced intervals throughout the winter and spring.”
Warm temperatures to help establish root systems are important. Winds play a role, too. High winds can bring a quick end to the spring bloom — or even preventing it by killing off delicate sprouts, according to the website.
“The best blooms are triggered by an early, winter-type rainstorm in September or October, followed by an El Niño weather pattern that brings above average rainfall to the Desert Southwest,” according to the website.
Panamint Valley is a three-hour drive from Las Vegas. It’s on the west side of Death Valley via CA-190.
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